Envelop-sealer



A. BEV AN.

ENVELOP SEALER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. :5. 1917 1,3 44,375. Patented June 22,1920.

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" A. BEVAN.

ENVELOP SEALER.

APPLICATION FILED mails. 19.17 Patented'June 22 1920.

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* UNITED STATES PATENT: OFFICE.

ALEXANDER imviuv, oEP ovIDENcE, RHODE ISLAND.

I ENVELOr-SEALER.

"To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALEXANDER BEVAN, a citizen of the United-States, residingat Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Envelop-Sealers, of which the following is aspecification. I j

This invention consists specifically in novel and improved construction of the envelop feed and flap moistening mechanism, whereby the envelops are'eflt'ectively sealed with rapidity and, uniformity. The details of construction and method of operation will be readlly understoodfrom a study of these specifications and annexed drawings,

in which corresponding parts are designated by like characters.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, of the seal ing machine. Fig. 2 is a perspective of the under side of thefeed plate. Fig. 3shows the under side of the flap moistener and bolder. Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross section of the same. "Fig 5 with front cover omitted;- Fig. 6 is a plan view of the machine with the feed plate-and the parts above it removed. Fig. 7 is a front View partlyzin section on a vertical plane passing longitudinallythrough the shafts 3 and i; showing the positions of the rolls, the shafts, andshaft bearings and'the cams. Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective of one group of cams, theother group being located near the other end of the shaft in the reverse order. Fig. 9 is a detail of the link connection tofthe main frame. Fig. 10 is an enlarged view, showing the flap presser in normal position in black lines, and in operative position in dotted lines. Fig. 11 is a perspective ofthe feed controller. a

Fig. 12- is a sectional View showing the envelop feeding mechanismwith an envelop in position therein, the flap of the envelop,

Fig. 13- illustrates thee'xtreme and in termediate positions of the feed plate link during. an envelop feeding motion.

Fig. 14- illustrates the adjustability of the bearing plates by which the journals is a perspective of the flap presser. Fig. 6 1s a top view ofthe sealer 'curately adjusted to the Specification of Letters Patent. I Patent d J 22" 1920 Application filed March 15.1917. Serial Nb. 154.967.

plates are preferably secured to the frame 1 by meansof screws 50 passing throughslots 51 insaid plates as best shown in Fig. 14.-

Journaled in these bearing plates is a crank shaft, 3, whose revolution operates the entire working mechanism; The shaft, 4, of

themain sealing roll, 5, is also journaled in these plates, and carries on one end a gear, 6, which meshes with a driving gear, 7, on the crankshaft, An auxiliary roll, 8, is mounted underneath'the main roll, 5, and

is movable to and from saidmain roll. The

shaft of this auxiliary roll is journaled in the ends of bearing-bars, 9-9, which hearing bars are pivotally hung at their other ends on screws or'rods entering centrally the bosses, 10-10', formed on the bearing plates, 2-2. These bars, 9-9, are provided with semi-elliptical flat springs,

ll-11, attached in any suitable way underneath, the free ends of said springs bearing upon the revoluble cams, 36-36, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. These bearing bars, 9-9,

therefore, together with roll, 8, have a limit ed range of oscillation about the axis of the bosses, 10-10. This oscillating movement is effected by the action of cams, 36-36, on the free ends of the springs, 11-11, which action presses the roll, 8, upwardagainst the roll, '5, duringthe greater part of each revolution of cams, 36-36, but when the cut away portion of said cams,

. as shown in Fig. 8, passes the ends of said springs the roll, 8, drops away from contact with roll, 5. Roll, 8,;isthus held in yielding contact with roll, 5, during nearly the entire. time of each crank revolution, but at suitably timed periods is allowed to drop out of contact with roll, 5. The adjustability of the plates 2-2, upon the frame 1, is provided in order that the crank-shaft bearings and the main sealing roll bearings located in said plates may be brought into "exact alinement and also in order that the contact line of the sealing rolls may beacplane of movement of the envelop feed plate.

Supported on the guideways, 12-12, extending inwardly from the sides of frame 1, is a reciprocating feed plate, 13, which is beveled on its under side at the front, form-' ing a comparatively thin edge. Backof this bevel is a recess in which is secured the flap moistener, 14. A thin lip or flap pro tecting portion, 15, bestshown in Fig. 2, is continuous with the surface of the bevel and extends a short dstance beyond the front wall of the recess, leavinga narrow space between this lip and the roof of the recess. The purpose of beveling the feed plateat the front edge, and placing: the flap moistener in a recess or depression on the under side of the feed plate back of the bevel is to facilitate the passage of the feed plate and flap moistener between the body of the envelop and its depending flap. These conditions require the use of a comparatively thin flap moistener which is liable to become gummed and hence inefiicient. To make this flap moistener readily renewable, the moistener is first secured in a holder 16, of thin non-oxidizable metal,

having its front and back sides folded over so as to clamp firmly the edges of the moistener. The moistener is secured in place by forcing the central portion of the front side ofthe holder under the lip, 15, and the back side of the holder down against the rear wall of the recess, which is slightly undercut. a

' A link, 17, is pivotally connected to a lug, 18, on the rear end of the feed plate, and a second link, 19, is pivotallyattached to an adjustable block, 20-; these two links being pivotally connected together at 21. Link 17, is preferably a double link, similar to links used in sprocket chains. A connecting bar, 22, is pivotally attached to the approximate middle of the link, 17, and the crank pin, 23. The block, 20, is adjustable upon a threaded bolt, 24, which passes through a drilled hole in the frame, 1, and into a threaded hole in the block, 20. By adjusting the position of the block, 20, upon the bolt, 24, the limit of forward motion of the feed plate in feeding the envelops to the sealing rolls may be accurately determined for the greatest effectiveness, and then the bolt may be locked in position by the nut, 25. a This link connection serves to increase the amount of reciprocating motion communicated to the feed plate by the rotary motion of the crank pin. 1

A flap presser, 26, is adjustably supported by means of the extended fiat bearings27- 27, resting in the vertical slots 28-28. These vertical slots are formed in the ends of two bent arms, 29-29, the other ends of which are pivoted upon the bosses, 10- 10. ,These bent arms are provided with flat operating springs 30-30, (shown in Fig. 1) by means of which the flap presser is caused topress the flap upward into ternporary contact with the flap moistener, while the envelop is being carried forward by the feed plate. The vertical slots, 28-28, are somewhat wider than the fiat bearings, 27- 27 resting therein, so that when the flap presser is caused to press the flap upward against the flap moistener it readily adjusts in said slot. This water tank is supported.

upon two flexible strips, 33-33, one end of which is attached to the frame 1,. at the points 34-34. These flexible strips are so positioned as to hold the moistening pad,

31, normally in rubbing contact with the flap ,mo'istener 14. i i

The vcrank shaft carries three pairs of cams, 35-35, 36-36, and 37-37, located so as to operate the flexible strips, 33-33, as wellas the two pairs of springs, 11-11 and 30-30 respectively when the said shaft.

is revolved. Just above the feed plate, 13, is the en- The bearings velop support, 38, whose central portion is cut away at the front in the approximate outline of an envelopflap, thus'permitting the flap of the lowermost envelop in the stack to project below the path of motion of the feed plate. The upper surface of said support declines slightly toward the front,

so that the body of an envelop resting thereon is given a slight declination toward its forward edge, thus bringing the line of the flap fold directly in the path of the forward motion of the feed plate.

The stack of envelops is retained in place between the two uprights 39 and 40, the latter of which is adjustable forward and back bymeans of slots 54 in its base to allow for different widths of envelops. Underneath the upright, 39, is a feed controller, 41, which is pivotally mounted upon the plates, 2-2, by means of the short arms, 42-42, so as to oscillate aboutthe pivot points, 43-43. Secured along the back side of the feed controller, and projecting a little below its lower edge is a friction strip, 44, of rubber orother suitable material. When this feed controller,41, is in normal position the lower edge of the strip, 44, permits easy clearance of the feed plate underneath, but when an envelop with its inclosure is carried forward by the feed plate the pressure on the friction strip raises the feed controller, 41, by causing it to turn upon the pivot points, 43.-43.' This piv otal motion is ample to permit the passage 7 of single envelops containing inclosures of different thicknesses, but the said feed controller is adapted to offer sufficient resistance to preventa second envelop from being fed forward at the same time, and is also adapted to return to normal position when an envelop hasbeen carried beyond it by the sealing rolls. 7 v p A back stop, 45, .of sheet rubber or other effective material, is secured at-the rear of the envelop support tofprevent the'possibility that an envelop, which has been fed forward to the sealing rolls, maybe drawn back by friction with the feed'plate when its forward motion is reversed. This stop is about the thickness of afull envelop, is;ad-,

justable in position, andis so located for each size of envelop that the rear ofthe bottom envelop, when fed forward,drops down in front of said stop'at the moment the feed plate reaches its limit of forward motion, hence the front edge or fold of the envelop is sure to be caught between the sealing rolls when the feed plateis withdrawn, and the envelop will then be carried forward. and

, sealed between the rolls. The adjustability of this stop plate is obtained bypassing the binding screws 5252' through slots 53 therein. e r

A crank handle, 46, may be employed .to turn the. crank shaft and operate the working mechanism. s

The operation-of the device will now be readily understood from the following detailed statement. The'envelops are placed upon the support, 38, with their flaps downward, the flap of the lowermost envelop projecting through the cutaway portion of the said support. By means :of the handle, 46,

the crank shaft is revolved-clockwise, causing reciprocating motion of the feed plate throughthe action of the connecting bar, 22,

on links 17 and 19. At the beginning of each forward movement of the feed plate, the moistening pad, 31, is brought into contact with the flap moistener, 14,"and is held in rubbing contact therewith by the flexible strips, 3333, until the feed plate has nearly completed its forward motion, when the cams 3535' act on the unattached ends of said flexible strips to lower the water tank and moistening pad supported thereon out of contact with the flap moistener,and keep it out of contact until the return movement of the feed plate has been completed'qThe moistening pad is thus in contact with the flap moistener during only a part of the forward movement of the feed plate, and for only a suflicient length of time to transfer the necessary amount of moisture to the flap moistener. V I

The forward motion of the feed plate carta'ct with the flap. is first raised theheel of saidpresser strikes 7 tion.

riesfit betweenthe body, 47, of'the lowervmost envelop and its depending flap, 48.

The moment the forward edge of the feed plate strikes the flap fold the flap presser,

26, is raised by the shoulders of'the cams,

37-437, acting on the springs, 3030, forcing the flap upward against the flap moistener-and holding it in pressure contact therewith until the shoulders on the said cams pass the ends of the-springs, 3030, when the flap presser drops away from con- VVhen the flap 'presser the flap first. but owing to its adjustable bearing supports the upper surface of the said presser readily assumes fthe horizonta l position corresponding with the direction of the feed plate and flap moistener, and so tener during the period of contact.

Just before the front edge of vthe feed plate in its forward motion reaches the sealing rolls, the auxiliary roll, 8, is allowed to dropout of contact with the main roll, 5,

, thus permitting the front of the envelop and feed plate free entrance between the sealing rolls. Thisfseparation is'eifected when the shoulders on cams, 36.36', pass the ends of the springs, 11-11. Continued rotation of the crank shaft reverses the motion of the feed plate, withdrawing its forward edge from between the sealing rolls, but leaving the forward edge or fold'of the envelop between the rolls. At this point the action of the cams, 36-36, on the springs, 1111' forces the auxiliary roll upward into contact with the fold of the envelop, which is now carried forwardand sealed between the rolls.

It is found by experience that the feed plate must be withdrawn as promptly as possible after carrying'the fold of the envelop between thesealing rolls. To effect this quick return movement without lost s motion, a spring, 49, is provided, againstwhich the lug, 18, strikes a little before the feed plate reaches its limit of forward-moter, and continues its back action until the This spring yields to allow the feed plate to complete itsforward motion, but reacts to start the feed plate backward the fmoment the crank pin passes the deadcenforward edge of the feed plate has been 2. In an envelop. sealer, a container for unsealed envelops, a reciprocating. feed plate, a flap moistener on the under side of said feed plate, a yieldably mounted flap presser plate, and means for intermittently moving said .presser plate to force the envelop flap with a yielding pressure against said moistener at each feeding operation.

3. In an envelop sealer, a container for unsealed envelops, a reciprocating feed plate, a flap moistener carried by said plate, a flap presser, means for moving said presser to force the flap against said moistener at each feeding operation, said presser being mounted to oscillate and conform to the position of the surface of the flap moistenor, and means for completingthe sealing operation.

4. In an envelop sealer, a receptacle for envelops, a driven sealing roll, a cooperating sealing roll, pivoted bearing arms in which said latter roll. is journaled, a U- shaped spring attached to each bearing arm,

cams bearing upon said springs whereby the said latter roll is held 1n yieldlng feeding contact with the other roll, said cams also permitting said yielding roll to move from driving contact at predetermined periods, means for moistening the envelop flap, and means for feedingthe envelop to said rolls.

5. In an envelop sealer, a supporting derneath, a water tank carrying a moisten-- ing pad projecting through a slot in its top and adjustably secured therein, springs supporting said water tank, one end of each of said springs being secured to the supporting frame at the rear of said tank, and the other ends of said springs being operable by cams forward of said tank to effect a properly timed intermittent contact of the moistening pad with the flap moistener, means for pressing the flap into contact with the flap moistener, and means for sealing the envelops.

6. In an envelop sealer, a receptacle for the unsealed envelop, a reciprocating feed plate, a flap moistener carried on the under side of said plate, a water tank having a moistening wick projecting therefrom and yielding means for moving said wick into contact with said moistener during a portion of its feeding stroke and out of contact during its return stroke.

, 7. In an envelop sealer, a supporting frame, a pair of bearing plates secured to said frame at opposite sides thereof, a crank shaft and a driven sealingroll both journaled in said bearing plates, a cooperating sealing roll and a flap presser both oscillatably supported upon said bearing plates, meanswhereby said bearing plates may be separately adjusted in position upon said supporting frame thereby bringingthe j ourcurately determined with -nal bearings of the cooperating parts into disposed flap protecting portion on the pad side of said plate extending back beyond the front edge of the exposed surface of sald pad to'prevcnt the ungummcd surface of the flap from contacting with the moistening pad to prevent transmitting moisture to the contents of the envelop.

9. In an envelop sealer, means for advancing the envelops to the sealing rolls, means for moistening the flaps, a container for unsealed envelops, a feed control plate forming the lower portion of the front wall of said container, but disconnected therefrom,

pivotal means whereby said feed' control plate may oscillate in the approximate vertical to permit the passage of envelops singly thereunder. j

10. In combination, a supporting frame, a container for envelops, sealing rolls, a feed plate, means for reciprocating said feed plate including a link pivotally connected atone end to the said feed plate, and at the other end to a block secured to said frame, and means for adjusting said block forward or back wherebythe limit of forward motion of said feed plate may be acrespect to said sealing rolls. 1

11. In an envelop sealer, an envelop receptacle, a reciprocating feedplate, rotatable means for reciprocating said feed plate, a depending lug secured to said feed plate, a yielding bumper engaging said lug at the end ofits advancing stroke totake up lost motion of the plate feeding mechanism. i I

12. In an envelop sealer, a container for unsealed envelops, a reciprocating feed plate provided with a recess in its under side, a moistening pad retainingiframe removably heldv in said recess, a moistening pad fixed in said frame, means whereby said -pad is caused to moisten the flap of said envelop, and means for sealing the envelops as advanced from said container by said plate.

13,111 an envelop sealer, a supporting frame, an envelopreceptacle, a reciprocatingfeed plate carrying a flap .moistener underneath, a water tank carrying a mois- .tening pad projecting through a slot in its top and adjustably secured therein, springs supporting said water tank, one end of each able by cams forward of said tank to effect a properly timed intermittent contact of the moistening pad with the flap moistener, means for pressing the flap into contact with the flap moistener, and means for sealing the envelops. i

14. In an'envelop sealer, acontainer for unsealed envelops, apositivelydriven sealing roll, a cooperating sealing roll journaled in pivoted bearing bars at each end, a spring acting on each bearlng bar, means whereby pressure -1s exerted upon sald springs to hold said cooperating roll in 7 in presence of two Witnesses.

ALEXANDER BEVAN.

' Witnesses:

CLARENCE H. CADY, DONALD S. Tones. 

